Players

Share

3 questions to Koziello

“Go out and get the qualification”

Two days before the visit of Zulte-Waregem (kick-off on Thursday at 7pm), Vincent Koziello spoke simply about the challenges faced in the fifth game of the Europa League.

Vincent, on Thursday, you have, at your feet, the opportunity to qualify...

… And it’s great! That’s what is at stake in this game. We are really concentrated and we all want to go out and get the qualification, it’s a chance and it comes in a big game against the Belgians. We beat them in the first leg (5-1), but we can’t think that it’s a given. We have lost twice in this competition, and we saw that even in the league, things can happen, even in games that we thought would go our way. So you have to remain vigilant.

What’s the mood in the camp after the match against Caen (1-1)?

We were disappointed at the end of the game, but the fixture list that we have means that we don’t have time to think about that. You always need to look forwards at what awaits us. There are lots of big matches between now and the end of the year, lots of important tests. In the league, we started badly, and in the Europa League, because it’s one of the priorities at the start of this season. To qualify for the next round would make everybody happy.

You were suspended in the first leg after the red card you got against Napoli. What did you make of Zulte-Waregem watching them on the television?

I had already played against this side in a friendly 2 or 3 years ago: they have quality, they like to play. And of course, like all sides that like to play, they leave spaces. We were able to exploit them perfectly in the first leg, very efficiently. The start of the second half hurt us, we asked ourselves if they could come back but in the end, we were able to manage it and to score again. They are able to pull some good things out of the bag, like winning at Arnhem. It won’t be easy, but if we put everything into the game, if we keep our concentration, stay rigorous and serious, it will be alright.